Aldain
Aldain is the first known male Harpy in existence on Golorian that was discovered by Jericho and raised by Lyle from his birth into adulthood Conception Aldain was conceived the way that all Harpy young are conceived, and that is through the raping of a male human. Not much is known about Aldain's mother, but his father was a human warrior named "Alduin" whose efforts to fend of his Harpy attacker were not only in vein but were the cause of his demise. After the egg that contained Aldain was laid, the flock of Harpies that Aldain's mother belonged to all sensed that something was different about her offspring and began to cautiously look over his egg. Over time, cautiousness grew to being overprotective which eventually grew to a natural state of blind worship of the egg. The island in which his egg resided had gradually become one big installation dedicated to the protection of Aldain's unhatched egg. Discovery While captaining his ship, the Bloody Mary through the seas of Golorian, Lyle sensed a great magical presence from the island of Harpies where Aldain's egg was. Not being satisfied until he discovered the source of this magic, Lyle sent Jericho, an elemental named Sebastian and a few other of the stronger members of his crew to investigate the island. After being met by attacks from the harpies of the island, some of the crew was captured, leaving Jericho to lead the remnants of the party as a rescue party. Upon arriving to the main nest, the rescue party fought and defeated the harpy opposition, slaying all the members of the flock as they continuously overheard them go on about their fixation with the egg of Aldain, as well as their excessive usage of the word "squaw". When they all laid dead and the rest of Jericho's party was rescued, they decided to take the egg along with them after it was identified as what caught Lyle's attention all the way back on his ship. Hatching, From Jericho to Lyle Upon returning the egg back to Lyle's ship, it hatched in Jericho's hands and Aldain imprinted on him. From there, Jericho carried Aldain, a fast-growing infant, in his rear pack during adventures. Aldain proved to be very hungry very frequently, so Jericho took to having bread and seed at the ready to be able to quell his rapid appetite. As they adventured more under Lyle's orders, Aldain started to exhibit very strong, involuntary acts of impressive ice magic that both helped and hurt himself and Jericho on many occasions. It was feats like this that Lyle was simply waiting to hear about because he knew, in his mind, that eventually he would need to take over the raising of the child. Lyle began to make his impression felt on a young Aldain early on, teaching him little magical tricks all the while beginning to drive a wedge between the young harpy and Jericho. Jericho was no idiot and started to catch onto this, so one day he confronted Lyle who openly confessed to his plans, asking Jericho to step aside on his raising of Aldain. Instead of complying, Jericho attacked Lyle and the two got into a physical fight. that spanned the entire ship and almost ended with Lyle being killed, but the crew of the ship was able to intervene and put a stop to the dispute. Ultimately this proved to be the final step in Lyle's plan to pry Aldain away from Jericho as Jericho quickly realized that Aldain had witnessed enough of their battle to think that Jericho was trying to kill Lyle in a jealous rage. At that point Aldain refused Jericho as his father figure and looked up to only Lyle. Jericho was banished from Lyle's ship afterward. Upbringing Aldain's upbringing into adulthood was one full of brainwashing and endless "tests". Lyle would often create smalls tests for Aldain to accomplish without his knowledge, informing him afterward of his motives to strengthen him, making him forever prepared for all things that were to come. Despite the preparation that this training gave him, it also brought up within him a sense of paranoia that everything he faces is a manufactured test by his master. A major result of the brainwashing that Lyle brought about is his emotional detachment of others, caring only about what his master tells him to. He never laughs, letting out an obvious forced chuckle when he feels it's necessary for the scenario, and frequently doesn't care for the wellbeing of others unless he's literally told to do so. He sees the lives of others as merely the tools and obstacles he uses to achieve his goals. The Test of Tian Xia Upon needing a few items that were, at the time, locked away in museums in the continent of Tian Xia, Lyle sent Aldain in as a way to eliminate Jericho, who he'd found was involved with a party that were looking to steal some of the same items, and then steal the rest of these items to aid an effort that he was orchestrating with Eezel. A third task was given to Aldain to protect Sigmund the Rune Mage because Sigmund was instrumental in the plan that Lyle and Eezel were putting together. After Jericho was eliminated and Aldain forged his way into the party of adventurers attempting to rob the museums, the party succeeded in both stealing all of the items that sought to take, and leading to the destruction of that town as they unleashed a lich that rose the dead and killed much of the city's inhabitants. Throughout this quest Aldain was frequently tested by Lyle, as he was teased that both Hitoshi and Gumby should be his true apprentice instead of Aldain. This caused Aldain to go on a focused tirade, killing the former of the two, that sometimes caused Aldain to ignore his mission in favor of his destiny. Lyle would later rescind his thoughts toward Gumby being his apprentice, giving Aldain no need to try and murder the Half-Orc. After escaping Tian Xia and watching many of the party die, Aldain was successful in keeping Sigmund alive, leading to their overall plan of unleashing Rovagug from his chains to be discovered by Narsus who protested, but was eventually swayed by the heralds of his god. After more notable deities intervened, stopping the plan that Aldain was apart of and causing Lyle to turn his back on Eezel to gain favor of more notable gods, Lyle gathered Aldain and took him to a desolate cabin where he ordered the execution of Sigmund as a show of loyalty. Despite months of blindly protecting Sigmund, Aldain did not think twice before gashing through Sigmund's throat, causing him to bleed out. Upon passing this test Lyle named him his herald and told him to dispose of Sigmund's body. Unbeknownst to them, Sigmund had crafted a rune of revival that he kept on his person and that activated as Aldain dragged him into the woods. After revealing himself to Aldain in an effort to kill him, the two got into a close final battle that resulted in Aldain leaving as the battered victor and Sigmund permanently deceased. From then on, Aldain pledged to serve as Lyle's loyal herald. Characteristics Aldain frequently calls people "squaws". When asked why, he explains that he simply does so and compares it to how people call others "sir" or "ma'am". Aldain's never ending appetite followed him into adulthood, utilizing a sack that magically produces an endless supply of bird seed cookies to keep his stomach in check. He often steals food from others, seeing no issue with this. Category:Player Characters